The matter Chu Feng had entrusted to the patriarch of the Formation Protection Clan was related to Xian Miaomiao.
Back when Chu Feng had left the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm and arrived in the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World, he had known that one day Xian Miaomiao would also come here.
First, her talent allowed it. Second… she needed to find her mother.
So, Chu Feng had given her two items: a key capable of breaking the barrier of the Hundred Refinements Arena, and a Golden Flash Bird, so that once Xian Miaomiao arrived in the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World, she could locate Chu Feng and notify him.
However, so much time had passed with no news of Xian Miaomiao. Chu Feng knew she likely had not yet arrived in the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World.
But Chu Feng had important matters to attend to and could not simply wait here forever, so he had asked the patriarch of the Formation Protection Clan to keep watch for Xian Miaomiao.
If he encountered her, he was to take care of her.
The patriarch of the Formation Protection Clan agreed readily, of course. After all, to him, Chu Feng was his master.
"Who is that person?"
Suddenly, a ripple of commotion passed through the vast crowd.
This place was the Ascending Sky Staircase. Towering high above and reaching all the way to the Greater Upper Realm, no one normally came here.
It was the place closest to the Greater Upper Realm, and for the people of the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World, it had become a sacred and inviolable ground.
Yet at this moment, an old man dressed in tattered rags, covered head to toe in dust, had appeared not far away.
If someone of insufficient strength coming here was already considered disrespectful, then an old man dressed like that arriving at this place was an outright affront.
Naturally, this drew the attention of the people of Hero City.
Out of curiosity, Chu Feng casually glanced over. But one look was enough — his gaze sharpened and his heart lurched.
Because he recognized that old man. He was the master of the Unknown Burial Ground.
This was no ordinary beggar. This was a master of unfathomable depth, a truly great figure.
Upon seeing the old man, Chu Feng instinctively stepped forward to greet him.
Although Chu Feng had broken through the Unknown Burial Ground on his own strength, he had still gained benefits from this elder, and he held him in considerable respect.
"Don't — don't come over, don't come over!"
But before Chu Feng could get close, the old man suddenly panicked. Shouting in alarm, he stumbled away at a run.
He was so flustered that he could barely stay on his feet, tripping and tumbling every few steps before scrambling up and continuing to flee.
Chu Feng froze on the spot, realizing something was wrong. The old man appeared to have been deeply shaken.
But this was the Hundred Refinements Ordinary World. Who in a place like this could have rattled him to such a degree?
Chu Feng's mind churned with questions, but for the moment, he simply could not work it out.
"Brother Chu Feng, you know that man? Did he offend you? Want us to go grab him and teach him a lesson?" Little Furball walked over and said.
In the past, Little Furball had resented Chu Feng because Ying Mingchao treated him too well, and had even caused trouble for him publicly.
But now, after the great calamity, he no longer harbored any resentment toward Chu Feng. On the contrary, he admired him greatly.
Gazing in the direction the old man had fled, Chu Feng looked pensive. After a moment, he turned to Little Furball and the others. "Don't provoke him."
"Why?"
Hearing this, everyone looked baffled. In their eyes, that decrepit old man was no different from a beggar.
Yet Chu Feng's words always carried a certain weight, and they got the sense that the old man was not as simple as he appeared.
And simple he certainly was not. He was the Holy Tiger Venerable.
A being who, in his prime, could have drowned every person here with a single spit.
It was only after the old ape had tormented him relentlessly that he had ended up like this.
Of course, they did not know he was the Holy Tiger Venerable. Not even Chu Feng knew his true identity.
"Remember his face. If you ever run into him again, under no circumstances should you provoke him," Chu Feng warned once more, his expression grave.
He did not know what had happened to the old man, but he knew the old man's strength was far from ordinary. This was the master of the Unknown Burial Ground.
So, even when the old man was not in his right mind, Chu Feng did not dare approach rashly — let alone Little Furball and the others.
"Understood."
Although Little Furball and the rest did not understand why Chu Feng wanted them to be cautious around that person, they nodded without hesitation. When it came to Chu Feng's words, none of them dared disobey.
"Farewell, everyone."
Chu Feng addressed the crowd, and then, together with Wang Qiang and Zhao Hong, as well as Ying Mingchao and Zi Xunyi, he stepped onto the Ascending Sky Staircase.
That was right — it was not just Chu Feng. Wang Qiang and Zhao Hong, along with Ying Mingchao and Zi Xunyi, these two pairs of lovers who had reconciled, also planned to venture into the Greater Upper Realm. They had decided to set off together with Chu Feng and his companions.
After all, traveling in a group meant having company.
"Junior Chu Feng, wait a moment."
Just then, an aged voice rang out, and an old man swept in from the distance, landing before the Ascending Sky Staircase.
This was the Prophecy Master.
Chu Feng had initially held reservations about this Prophecy Master. After all, if not for his prophecy, the Kong Heavenly Clan would never have targeted Chu Feng in the first place.
But later, the Prophecy Master's predictions had proven true — for example, the great calamity, which the Prophecy Master had accurately foretold would occur.
And Chu Feng had indeed become the one to stop that calamity.
"Master, have you made a prophecy?" Chu Feng asked.
Because Chu Feng had found the Prophecy Master's predictions to be trustworthy, he had commissioned the old man to help search for traces of Yue Xian and to determine where Ya Fei and the others had gone — so that Chu Feng would know where to find them in the future.
Yet so many days had passed, and the Prophecy Master had been unable to divine anything.
Seeing him rush over in such a hurry, Chu Feng naturally assumed he had finally predicted something.
"My apologies. I am incompetent — I failed to divine anything." The Prophecy Master shook his head.
"No matter," Chu Feng said with a faint smile. Then he asked, "Is there something you need, Master?"
"Junior Chu Feng, I owe you a debt, and I have always wished to make some reparation."
"Although I could not foresee anything regarding your friends, I did… make a prophecy concerning you," the Prophecy Master said.